Can we "prehabilitate" pancreatic cancer patients prior to surgery? A critical appraisal of the literature.

Background: Enhancing a patient's functional capacity to withstand the surgical stress by means of multimodal (combined exercise, nutrition and psychological interventions) prehabilitation may potentially lead to improved outcomes in pancreatic cancer surgery.

Methodology: A systematic review was undertaken searching PubMed, Google Scholar and Cochrane Library databases, exploring the impact of prehabilitation in pancreatic surgery. Outcomes of interest were adherence to the prehabilitation, functional capacity, overall complications and post-operative length of stay.